6 Thoughts From Playing Tokyo Xtreme Racer In Early Access

Well, here’s a game we’ve been pretty excited to get our hands on. Ever since Japanese developer Genki announced the revival of its cult arcade racing series Tokyo Xtreme Racer (Shutokou Battle to our friends in the Far East), we’ve been itching to take on the Shuto Expressway.

We’ve racked up around eight hours of play ahead of its early access release on 23 January, and have a few thoughts to share.

It’s refreshingly simple to play

Anyone who has played a Tokyo Xtreme Racer game before will be delighted to know the core formula has been retained and without any extra gimmicks. Drive car, flash racer, beat racer, earn money, rinse, repeat.

In a world of live service, always-online, limited-time events – simply hopping into a game and getting straight into the core of it without fuss is refreshing.

The car list is excellent but with one huge omission

No surprise, but Tokyo Xtreme Racer goes in heavy on the JDM delights. Everything from sedate kei cars like the Daihatsu Move, more sensible options like not one, but two Subaru Levorgs and the legends we all love – every R-series Nissan Skyline GT-R, the FD Mazda RX-7, A80 Toyota Supra – are all available.

There is one big omission from the car list at the moment, though. There’s no Honda. We’re very sad about that, as we can’t think of much more fitting with the game than going full VTEC in an EG Civic, but for now that’s not possible. We can only assume it’s a licensing issue, and hopefully a temporary absence.

You can race literally anyone

Admittedly, my recollection of older Tokyo Xtreme Racer titles is a little foggy – so this may not come as a surprise to those who remember it in better detail – but I caught myself off guard finding out you can race against literally anyone. Yes, those traffic cars just going about their day can be flashed at and challenged.

Granted, they’re pretty easy to beat and the payouts are low, but it’s pretty funny taking on your choice of ‘The Nameless One’ at any given moment. Particularly if they’re driving a Toyota Dyna.

The AI needs work

Given we’ve been playing the game ahead of its official Early Access release, lacklustre AI isn’t something I’ll slate too much right now, but there’s certainly room for improvement.

Right now, it’s all too easy to pull away from AI in cars significantly faster on paper than yourself. That, or they’ll cut right across you without a care in the world. It’s not game-ruining, but a bit underwhelming.

It’s best enjoyed on a controller, for now

If you’re a controller player, you’ll be delighted to know that Tokyo Xtreme Racer plays brilliantly on a pad. Handling is reminiscent of the old titles and that translates to very easy-to-understand, hard to master gameplay.

Yet, as someone with a dedicated sim rig, I’m eagerly anticipating some future updates to wheel support. Although yes, the game will work with a wheel, force feedback is effectively nonexistent at the time of writing. There is an in-game slider for it, but I’ve tried both a Moza R9 and Fanatec GT DD Pro, yet neither offers much feel.

Multiplayer would be nice to have

Single-player is rightfully the focus of this new Tokyo Xtreme Racer title, but I can’t help but hope for a proper multiplayer mode down the line.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from ‘no hesi’ mods on Assetto Corsa in the last decade, there’s an appetite for a proper PvP Shutokou battle game. There’s no indication it’s coming, but my fingers are crossed.